The invention relates generally to a document acceptor with a multi-function optical sensor.
Document acceptors, such as bill acceptors and bill validators, typically include one or more sensors. For example, various bill validators include multiple sensors. Each such sensor typically may perform one of the following functions: detecting the insertion of bills or other documents into the validator, detecting optical and/or magnetic features of an inserted banknote, detecting bar code patterns on an inserted document, and detecting the position of a document within the validator, among others. As vendors demand better capabilities for distinguishing between genuine and false documents, as well as increased security and prevention of fraud, the number of sensors required in bill validators tends to increase. Each additional sensor, however, takes up space within the validator and increases the overall cost of the validator.